For the first time in I can't remember when I didn't attend the midnight release of a Madden game. I have owned every single Madden title going back to my Sega console over twenty years ago. I set my alarm to wake me up so I could go down and be one of the first people to rent the game. Prior to being awoken by the clock I received a phone call from a friend and he was excited to tell me how good the game was. I found myself kind of excited to get my hands on it and was hoping to see some real improvements from a troubled franchise.
Prior to even playing a game or participating in a practice session I encountered bugs and glitches. I couldn't get the coach's face to load while attempting to create a character and had to dashboard the game to remedy the situation. I picked the Cowboys and entered the practice session to notice my uniforms were the customary Dallas whites and the scout team was decked out in all white. There is no way to change the uniforms for this type of session so I'm stuck playing practice games (something that is necessary to gain experience points) while dealing with the difficulty of trying to tell my players from the scout players. If it were just a couple of small details like this that surfaced infrequently in the game then I might not even mention them in a review. However, this is kind of the theme for the entire game.
There is a lot of fun to be had; the game isn't unplayable by any means. But as far as the actual game of football goes, this game is pretty weak. I suspect it is because so many people want Madden to be good, to be the best football game on the market (because there are only two), and because it has been so bad for a few years now that they were eager to overrate it when it was better than recent years. And, to be fair, this game is better than the last couple of Madden games. However, it's still flawed technically and doesn't truly feel like a football simulation.
I'm not a Madden basher; I've owned every game ever released until this year. I'm not an EA hater; they make some of my favorite games. I don't like college football more than the NFL in real life; I do enjoy both venues but the NFL is by far my favorite of all sports competitions to watch. I just want to show my motivation in writing this review isn't to knock this game for any other reason than it deserves to be knocked.
In the first game I played I experienced three consecutive plays where the running back's leg would disappear under the playing surface when he was tackled. This is totally unacceptable to me. If, on some rare occasion, a player goes through a wall when he's out of bounds or runs through a bench player like he wasn't there then I can forgive that kind of oversight. But when the player isn't even merged correctly with the playing field I find that very bothersome and hard to overlook, especially since they are asking me to overlook it a lot of the time.
The new Infinity Engine is being raved about in many other reviews. It's better than whatever engine they used in the past but it's clunky and not realistic. The players don't get locked into animations when tackling or being tackled, and that' a good thing, but the result of the rag doll engine isn't anything great either. The players go lifeless when hit and their bodies bend and contort in very unrealistic ways. It's very common for a player to be pulled down from behind and their legs just collapse like rubberbands and I wait to see if my player is going to get up or have his season ended with two blown ACL's on the same play. Even after the play has ended and the players are exiting the pile and returning to their feet it just doesn't look real. They step on each other unrealistically and their feet go below the playing field far too often.
The running is also unrealistic. The players can cut and run sideways at full speed and it doesn't feel like a simulation when this occurs. They carry the ball in a different fashion this year and it also fails to deliver realism. Line play is still a mixed bag. Sometimes they execute amazing swim moves while other times they play paddycake with the offensive linemen. I don't feel like I really have control over whether or not I get by the lineman, just sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. Even the times I do break through the line I can be miraculously halted from a full sprint from a side block by the running back. All of this while the quarterback is inches away, standing there as if I'm no threat at all. Having stated that, there are still too many sacks and it fails to provide a true simulation feel when accruing stats for a season. The kicking is back to the analog stick, which is fine, but it's ridiculously sensitive this year and just seems flawed. And the AI makes some very questionable game management calls at very crucial times, again pulling away from a realistic simulation.
I could list many more very small annoyances about the game but it would only add to an already lengthy review. I can't help but feel the game isn't good because it isn't possible to make a good NFL game, but simply the game isn't good because this particular branch of the EA team just sucks. They removed the ability to play with a friend in franchise mode unless its done online. Why? They removed the ability to perform a fantasy draft. Why? I don't have the ability to challenge any call I think is wrong. Why? I can have an accelerated clock at any point in the game until I actually want to use the feature, late in the game with a couple of minutes left. Then the clock goes to real time and the only thing I'm really wanting to do is run time off the clock. Why?
There are some games where it must be difficult to actually encompass the feel of the real game into the video game, baseball comes to mind. There are games like NBA 2K and NHL Hockey and FIFA that incorporate the feel of the game very well. If I had never experienced a real feeling football game then I would just assume this sport was one of the more difficult ones to simulate, but I have experienced one. The irony is the fact the game is made by the same exact company that makes the Madden game. The college football game has been a better football game for three years running. It feels like you're playing a football game. It's not perfect but it's done very well and aims to be realistic. The animations, graphics, tackling, passing, running, and franchise modes are all top notch and blow Madden out of the water. All of it just leads me to believe the entire Madden staff, from top to bottom, needs to be canned and replaced. The good news for EA is the fact they don't have to look very far to find a team capable of delivering a true football experience.
If you absolutely hate college football or you simply are loyal to the Madden franchise and this is the only football game you purchase each year then you won't be let down. This is assuming your game play doesn't hinge on having some buddies over to participate in a franchise where you all play against each other at your home. If you haven't experienced the college football game and are only basing your game play on previous Madden titles then you will find this a better game than recent entries. The presentation is good and Nance and Simms are pretty entertaining. But to say the replays are "just like watching a real game", like other reviews, is simply not true. Often times the replay totally zooms in on the football and follows it in super slow motion for ten seconds. I've never seen that once in forty years of watching football. Still, if you only own one football game and you always choose Madden then this game will certainly provide a fun factor. It's just not nearly as good as some reputable reviewers have made it out to be. If you've purchased NCAA Football 13 and like it and still play it then I really can't recommend purchasing Madden; it doesn't do anything better and does a lot of things worse.
Fun Factor
Mixed bag. If you have high standard for the realism in a simulation, enjoy playing franchises at home with your friends, already own NCAA Football 13 and enjoy it, then you're going to be let down. If you've only played Madden games for your football needs then this is going to seem better than recent attempts. It's kind of like how a Jack in the Box tastes good but it's not a real taco; this game is fun but not a real football simulation.
Purchase or Rent
Again, mixed bag for all the same reasons mentioned above. I do recommend it for those that love Madden and buy it every year (but what's the point of a recommendation to those that will purchase it every year regardless of the quality of the product). For those that have grown to like the play of the college game better then I can't even recommend a rent of the Madden game.
Things They Got Right
The experience gained by the player, which can be spent each week to improve players in all sorts of ways, is a cool feature. It provides a new element to the game and serves as a game withing a game. The presentation is done well and has a good feel to it.
Things They Got Wrong
Too many small bugs at launch, players disappear below the field of play, tackling is improved but hardly realistic, removal of key franchise options, flawed AI when it comes to critical decisions.
Rating
6.0 - The game has improved from recent years where I would have ranked it a 5.0. However, the college football game entered the scene as a solid 7.0 and has managed to blossom to a 8.0 this year. I have tough standards and 7 is a pretty good game.
